NFL Playoff Scenarios: 3 Divisional Rematches That Could Come to Light

With a number of divisional rivals making it to this year's NFL playoffs, it's likely that we could see teams meet up for the third time this season on their respective quests to reach the Super Bowl.

A divisional matchup is always exciting, but when the pressure of the playoffs is added in, it makes for a compelling and unpredictable scenario in which everything is on the line.

Here are three divisional rematches we could see in this year's playoffs.

Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions

With a win over the New York Giants in the Wild Card round of the NFC playoffs and a loss by the Atlanta Falcons against the New Orleans Saints, the Detroit Lions would be set to face the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round.

It would be the teams' third meeting of the year. With their second, scheduled for Week 17, yet to be played, it's unknown if the Lions will be looking to finally get a win over the heavily-favored Packers or whether the Packers will have to prove they can defeat Detroit when it matters most.

Both the Packers and the Lions boast strong offenses, with the Packers easily the highest-scoring in the league. However, the Packers lack a viable secondary, while the Lions have one of the more intimidating defenses in the NFL.

If the Lions can bring significant pressure on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and effectively cover his many weapons at wide receiver while putting up yards in the air with their own offense, the Lions could prove to be the team to spoil the Packers' chances for a second consecutive Super Bowl victory.

Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints

Both times the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints met in the regular season, the Saints have come out on top, first notching an overtime win in Week 10 and most recently blowing them out 45-16 in Week 16.

This history doesn't mean that it's a foregone conclusion that if the Falcons and Saints are to meet again in the postseason that the Saints will win for the third time.

To sweep a divisional opponent in both the regular and postseason is an extremely difficult feat, and there's no doubt the Falcons will be playing to win throughout the playoffs but most especially if they meet the Saints again.

As it stands now, the Saints and Falcons are set to meet in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, with the Falcons going on to play the Green Bay Packers with a win and the Saints playing the San Francisco 49ers should they win.

The Saints are a top-10 offense in both rushing and passing, but rank just 30th in pass defense. The Falcons are a top-10 passing team and will look to exploit the weakness in New Orleans' secondary in the postseason.

This game should end up as a close contest akin to their Week 10 game; it's less likely that, in the playoffs, the Falcons will give up 45 points to New Orleans while scoring fewer than 20 of their own.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

It's not uncommon for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens to meet each other three times in a year, with both teams being fixtures in the AFC playoff picture. This year is no different, though with AFC playoff seeding still very much up in the air, there's still a chance the two won't meet.

As it stands today, the Steelers would meet the Ravens in the divisional round should they beat the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card round and the Cincinnati Bengals defeat the Houston Texans.

Otherwise, if the Texans defeat the Bengals, the next-best chance for these two longtime rivals to meet is in the AFC championship game. If that's the case, expect it to be one of the most intense conference championship games in recent memory.

Both the Ravens and Steelers boast top-10 defenses, with the Ravens fielding the best in the NFL. On offense, the Ravens are more adept at running the ball than passing it, while the Steelers are quickly becoming one of the most elite aerial offenses in the league.

The days of the low-scoring, all-defense Ravens-Steelers matchups seem to be in the past. But there's no doubt that, should these two teams meet in the playoffs this year, it will be just as brutal and hard-hitting as ever.